“I’m needed at home. And when you’re needed at home, you go home when they call,” he said Thursday night. “I’m attached to the place. I can’t say it any other way. It’s a part of me.”

So in the latest soap-opera-style development at the race track, Allen is returning to again run the front office, this time in an elevated capacity that makes him more than a general manager.

He has become a partner in a newly formed group that he said presented the offer of having absolute power in overseeing the operational side of the speedway.

Abraham Woidislawsky remains the owner of the 51-acre property on which Ace sits.

The track, the only auto racing facility of its kind in Alamance County — and perpetually a lightning rod for uncertainty and speculation — still is scheduled to open its 57th season on March 29.

Allen said Woidislawsky now will have “zero involvement” in daily decision-making processes, situations which previously created a strained business relationship between the men and ultimately an impasse that compelled Allen’s resignation in early December.

“Here’s a chance to do it the right way, in a manner that I’ve been trying to do it for three years,” Allen said. “We are responsible for the racing program, all the operating costs and scheduling as we see fit without having to be dependant on (Woidislawsky).

“I’ve always said if we could wipe the slate clear and operate free of the past problems, we could take off. I think this is the chance to do that. Now we’ve got the means to do it. The funds are in place. So it was like, ‘Why not. Why not go back and do it?’ “

Allen, the Burlington native and former champion Modifieds driver at Ace, didn’t want to divulge names yet when asked about the new operational management group he has joined. That partnership begins as a one-year arrangement, Allen said.

“We’re hopeful of signing a three- to five-year deal and fast-tracking this thing,” he said. “It’s local. It’s stable. People who are knowledgeable about local short-track racing, who have paid attention to what we have done and want to see it continue.

“We’ve finally got a chance to operate from ahead, not play catch-up.”

After resigning from Ace and seemingly ending three resurgent years in charge, Allen began work Jan. 21 as the general manager of Southern National Motorsports Park, a track in the eastern half of the state located less than 10 miles from Wilson.

Allen said he still will be involved in the racing program there, though on a smaller scale. Southern National is a Saturday night track — it’s a drive of about an hour and 40 minutes from this area — and Ace’s events mostly are on Friday nights, so conflicts should be minimal on race days, at least.

“I’ll come down and uphold my obligations to them,” Allen said, referring to Southern National. “They gave me a tremendous opportunity and have been very understanding.”

Ace has open practice sessions scheduled for the next four Saturdays before shifting to its Wednesday rotation of in-season practices.

Allen said the track’s website — acespeedway.com — should be back online soon. That web address has produced nothing but a barren screen in recent weeks.